A collapse in the Doha round of trade talks is seen as a serious possibility by the world’s leading industrial nations who said on Friday it was “imperative” that such an outcome should be avoided.

Finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of Seven did not refer directly to the risk of the trade talks failing in their statement after a meeting on Friday night. But they sought to inject new urgency into the multilateral trade negotiations, saying that it was “imperative” that they be concluded successfully.